Melissa waited nervously at her kitchen table, fingernails making a constant clacking at her wooden table. There had been no contact in the past two days, no mention in the papers, nothing on the news. Then, this morning, she saw a report: unidentified body found in the county landfill. She didn't need for them to report anything. She knew they'd identify him eventually; dental records wouldn't lie. Then they'd show up here, and hopefully by then she'd be composed enough to get past any police questioning.
Booze always helped. She walked over to her late husband's liquor cabinet, took out the lone bottle of Malibu she kept stashed, and filled up 2/3 of a glass with the nectar. She pulled some juice out of the fridge out of habit, cleaned up, and returned to her seat, sipping away at her liquid courage. She finished quickly, prepared herself another, and began to think about lunch. Perhaps she'd have one more meal in freedom.
Fifteen minutes later, the knock came to her door.
She realized at that moment how unprepared she was for this. She'd showered this morning, fixed her hair, but couldn't find little more than a sundress to wear around the house. By now, her hair was beginning to fall flat. One of her nails was chipping from her nervous tic. Her hand shook as she set her glass down. She waited until it was still before getting up to answer the door. Taking a deep breath, she took the steps to the door, opened it, and put on her best fake smile with a hint of surprise.
"Good morning, officer. Can I help you?" The cheer in her voice sickened her, but she went on.
"Morning, ma'am. My name's Officer Baker. Ms... Smith, is it?" The officer looked incredibly fit, clean cut, with a military haircut.
"Yes, that's me. What seems to be the trouble, officer?"
"Ms. Smith, I have a few questions for you... do you mind if I step inside?"
Melissa cleared her throat. "No, not at all officer." She stepped back, directing him into the living room. He took a seat on the couch, nearest to the armchair. Melissa sat there, in her husband's seat, claiming his throne.
Officer Baker took off his hat as he entered, tucking it under his arm like he'd done time and time again. He hated delivering this news, much preferred to be out patrolling and cleaning up the streets. However, after his last case went south due to unnecessary force at arrest, he'd been assigned elsewhere temporarily. He took out a notepad, also habit, and looked Ms. Smith square in the eyes.
"Ms. Smith, I'm going to have to ask a few questions. First off, is there anyone else here, any other family members?"
"No, not at all," she said. "My husband was never able to have children, so it's just us."
"About your husband, ma'am," he said, clearing his throat. "When was the last time you heard from him?"
Melissa answered blankly. "Well, I dropped him off at the airport on Monday morning," she said, reciting the statement she'd prepared for weeks. "He's in Baltimore on business all this week."
"And he never called after that?"
Melissa chuckled. "No. I've tried telling him time and again, but he gets... very into his work. Is something the matter with Jim?
Officer Baker sighed and wiped his brow. "Ma'am, I hate to tell you this, but we found a body this morning in the landfill. It was pretty beat up. We managed to get one fingerprint off of it, though."
Whoops, she thought.
"Ma'am, the body belonged to your husband. I'm terribly sorry." He was mechanical, and offered his hand to her knee as a comfort. The sundress had ridden up a bit, and he felt the soft, smooth skin of her leg.
Melissa stared blankly back at him. She felt her face getting a little pale. "J... Jim's dead? But how? I just saw him Monday..."
Officer Baker retracted his hand. "I know, Miss. I'm sure this comes as a shock to you. His body had been..."
Melissa stopped him. "No, no. I don't want to know. I... don't think I want to know."
"Understood, ma'am. Listen, since you were the last person to have interacted with him, I'm going to need to ask you a few questions..."
Shit.
